Ka’ Thuy Linh and her husband Dai Chang Sheng being tried in Tay Ninh Province on December 2, 2014. The couple were sentenced to three years in jail each for helping sell Vietnamese brides to Chinese nationals. Photo: Giang Phuong

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A Vietnamese woman and her Chinese husband stood among a group of 11 people sentenced to jail in Tay Ninh province on Tuesday for selling local women to Chinese nationals.

Ka’ Thuy Linh and her husband Dai Chang Sheng each received three-year sentences.

The mastermind of the scheme, Pham Thi Ngoc Tuyet, 41, received eight years, while the remainder of their accomplices got between two and seven years.

Investigators from Tay Ninh first caught Linh and her husband at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in the neighboring Ho Chi Minh City on the evening of June 4.

The Vietnamese traffickers and a Chinese national named Yang Yue Kun were making arrangements to send three Vietnamese girls to China where they would meet their future husbands when they were taken into custody.

The couple’s statements led the police to arrest Tuyet and her accomplices.

The court found that Tuyet had asked Linh, her husband and Kun to bring Chinese men over to pick out Vietnamese wives last year.

The couple and Kun had to pay 30,000 Yuan (some US$4,880) for each Vietnamese woman selected.

Pham Thi Ngoc Tuyet stands in the dock in Tay Ninh Province on December 2, 2014 for masterminding a ring that sells Vietnamese women to wife-seeking Chinese. Photo: Giang Phuong

Tuyet paid VND30 million ($1,400) to each member of the ring and VND20 million ($936) to each woman’s family.

The women themselves were frequently misled about the purpose of their trips to China.

The court found that the ring had brought Chinese bachelors over to pick out 11 Vietnamese wives since May of last year.

Seven of those women have already been trafficked to China.

Tay Ninh Police have put out a warrant for Kun after his escape from custody. They've also asked the provincial government to fine two wife-seeking Chinese men VND20 million each.